The present invention pertains to mobile internet protocol networks and more particularly to a method for push application services to a mobile station.
Push applications for push clients desire to deliver or “push” data to a mobile station using internet protocol. The data to be pushed to a mobile station includes weather announcements, alerts or advertisements.
In order to reach the mobile station, the push application must know or discover the mobile station's internet protocol address. In addition, for the data which is pushed to be appropriately delivered to the mobile station, the mobile station must have an active connection (i.e. a packet data protocol context) with a wireless gateway.
Push applications may need to push or transmit data to the mobile station at times when the mobile station does not have an active packet data protocol context or an internet protocol address within the wireless network. A push application can use an internet protocol address that has been allocated by a mobile internet protocol home agent (HA). The internet protocol address assignment will typically be done upon first registration of the mobile station.
When the mobile station deactivates its packet data protocol (PDP) context, the PDP context must be reactivated in order to receive the pushed data from a push application.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to have a method for packet data protocol context activation which may be requested by the network itself or a portion of the network.